This invention relates generally to a cleaning apparatus, and more particularly, concerns an ultrasonic transducer for detoning a cleaner brush.
A commercially successful mode of cleaning employed on automatic xerographic devices utilizes a brush with soft conductive fiber bristles or with insulative soft bristles which have suitable triboelectric characteristics. While the bristles are soft for the insulative brush, they provide sufficient mechanical force to dislodge residual toner particles from the charge retentive surface. In the case of the conductive brush, the brush is usually electrically biased to provide an electrostatic force for toner detachment from the charge retentive surface. Toner particles adhere to the fibers (i.e. bristles) of the brush after the charge retentive surface has been cleaned. The process of removing toner from these types of cleaner brushes can be accomplished in many ways. Typically, brush cleaners, use flicker bars to provide the detoning function. A flicker bar is usually a thin long bar with a controlled amount of interference with the brush fibers. When the fibers encounter the flicker bar, the fibers bend and the impact dislodges toner particles adhering to the fibers. Once released, these particles may be carried away by an airstream to a toner filter or separator. In some electrostatic brush cleaners the toner is removed from the brush with a rotating biased detoning roll. The disadvantage of this method is that as the size of cleaner brushes decrease in diameter, they can not be properly detoned in this manner. This results in partial detoning of the fibers and a gradual accumulation of toner in the brush. When the amount of toner accumulated in the brush exceeds a critical level, a severe cleaning failure can occur.
The following disclosures may be relevant to various aspects of the present invention and may be briefly summarized as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,999 to Lindblad et al. discloses a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) device operating at a relatively high frequency coupled to the backside of a somewhat flexible imaging surface to cause localized vibration at a predetermined amplitude, and is positioned in close association with the imaging surface cleaning function, whereby residual toner and debris (hereinafter referred to as simply toner) is fluidized for enhanced electrostatic discharge of the toner and/or imaging surface and released from the mechanical forces adhering the toner to the imaging surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,503 to Snelling discloses a multi-color printer using a sonic toner release development system to provide either partial or full color copies with minimal degradation of developed toner patterns by subsequent over-development with additional colors and minimal back contamination of developer materials. After developing of the last color image, the composite color image is transferred to a copy sheet. Development is accomplished by vibrating the surface of a toner carrying member and thereby reducing the net force of adhesion of toner to the surface of the toner carrying member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,546 to Maret discloses an electrostatographic reproducing apparatus and process including a system for ultrasonically cleaning residual material from the imaging surface. Ultrasonic vibratory energy is applied to the air space adjacent the imaging surface to excite the air molecules for dislodging the residual material from the imaging surface. Preferably pneumatic cleaning is employed simultaneously with the ultrasonic cleaning. Alternatively a conventional mechanical cleaning system is augmented by localized vibration of the imaging surface at the cleaning station which are provided from behind the imaging surface.